What do we do? 

Development of functional hydrogels via molding, electrospinning, microfluidic spinning and 3D printing for medical applications in skin and cardiovascular systems and for applications as wearable energy harvesting.

Why do we do this? 

We target optimal healing of tissue injuries and effective treatment of chronic disease with biomaterial innovations. We also target the expansion of the use of renewable solar energy.

How do we do this?

Our approaches include: 1) in vitro development of skin and cardiovascular models for understanding and solving health problems; 2) in vivo protection or restoration of skin and cardiovascular tissue functions; 3) Tailoring the nanostructure of hydrogels to specific application requirements.

Left: A hydrogel-based bi-layered skin model; Middle: 3D-bioprinted cell-laden hydrogel patch. Right: Nanostructure of silicone hydrogels used for wearable energy harvesting.

• SwissCheese: Soft surgical patches for "Swiss-Cheese" ventricular septal defect closure
• HydroSuture: Hydrogel-coated sutures for soft tissue surgeries
• Wound Booster: Advanced dressing for chronic wound management
• TeSK: Wearable Luminescent Solar Concentrators
• NCCR Bio-inspired Materials: Transiently pulsating materials inspired by the heart